“I had been as polite as I can be as the president,” Lee wrote on X, referring to his earlier response to Ukraine’s “unilateral” disclosure and breach of trust.
But Kyiv had made him a “liar” by denying that the two governments had formally agreed to keep the transfer confidential, he said. Instead of apologizing, Ukrainian officials had made remarks that sounded as though they wanted conflict between the two Koreas, Lee said.
He warned of action if Kyiv continued to deny the facts and undermine the South Korean government and its people.
The dispute began with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s Sept. 23 address to the U.N. General Assembly and has escalated into an unusually public diplomatic spat between countries that have maintained close ties since Russia’s invasion in 2022.
Seoul claimed Ukraine had agreed to keep the transfer confidential because of security and humanitarian concerns, including the safety of the two soldiers and their families in North Korea. Ukrainian officials have denied that such an agreement existed.
Cheong Wa Dae has accused Kyiv of damaging trust between the two governments. South Korea’s Foreign Ministry summoned Ukraine’s acting ambassador in Seoul on Monday to lodge a protest.
The dispute widened after Kyrylo Budanov, head of Ukraine’s presidential office, warned that North Korea was applying battlefield lessons learned in Ukraine to its own military. He also suggested that rising tensions on the Korean Peninsula could eventually lead to an uncontrolled confrontation.
Ukraine’s foreign minister struck a more conciliatory tone Thursday, a day before Lee’s latest remarks.
“I would not like to call this an incident. Let’s say, it’s a diplomatic misunderstanding,” Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha told reporters.
Sybiha said Ukraine was working to resolve the dispute quickly and stressed that South Korea remained an important partner for Kyiv.
The two North Korean soldiers were captured by Ukrainian forces in January 2025 while fighting alongside Russian troops. They were the first North Korean soldiers known to have been captured alive after Pyongyang deployed troops to support Moscow’s war effort.
AJP Takeaways:
- South Korea–Ukraine tensions deepen: President Lee Jae Myung accused Kyiv of making him a “liar” by denying an agreement to keep the transfer of two North Korean prisoners of war confidential.
- Seoul cites safety concerns: South Korea says secrecy was needed to protect the soldiers and their families in North Korea. Ukraine denies that a confidentiality agreement existed.
-Kyiv seeks to ease the dispute: Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha called the spat a “diplomatic misunderstanding” and reaffirmed South Korea’s importance as a partner.
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